Tokyo DOOH Network Has 11,500 Screens In Taxis

February 23, 2024 by Dave Haynes

Language is a big barrier, and it steadily nags at me that much of what gets covered here overlooks what goes on in other parts of the world, notably Asia.

Consider news out of Japan of a tie-up between a company that seems to be having genuine success with DOOH screens in taxis and a big, deep-pocketed data-driven DOOH network  operator in that country.

Growth, based in Tokyo, has screens in 11,500 taxis, and it has now hooked in with the marketplace of LIVE BOARD. Adding taxis gets LIVE BOARD’S overall aaiable to book screen footprint past 63,500, a lot of that in mass transport. 

LIVE BOARD is a joint venture company between telecom NTTDOCOMO and the huge media agency Dentsu, and is positioned as Japan’s first and largest DOOH  marketplace.

There are vast cultural differences between Japan and North America, so for all I know the riding public might love these screens. They’ve not been popular over here when companies have tried that.

I remember marveling at the muscle memory of a taxi driver in Las Vegas who could reach behind him, while driving and without taking his eyes off the road, and  precisely hit the little on-screen mute button for the ad display in his car, to avoid endlessly hearing Steve Wynn purr about his resort hotels. It has been a while since I was in an NYC cab, which at least used to have screens. The last time I rode into the city in a cab from Laguardia it was so hairy I wanted to kiss the sidewalk when I got out.

The selections on these 11,500 HD, laptop-sized taxi screens – 11,500! – are at the choosing of the riders in Tokyo. It includes content specifically produced for the medium, like this … I’d be scrambling for the mute button, but that’s me.